Land-rolling machine.



C. L. LILLEBERG. LAND ROLLING MAOHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1910. 1,017,430, Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

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CHARLES L. LILLEBERG,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LAND-ROLLING MACHINE.

Specication of uLetters Patent.

vApplication 1ed November 28, 1910. Serial No. 594,488.

Patented Feb. 13, 1.912.v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. LILLE- BERG, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Land-Rolling Machines, of which the following is -a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invent-ion relates to land rolling machines and broadly speaking includes a minimum number of three land rolling rollers arranged in tandem and adapted simultaneously to turn and operate on the ground, the structure being such that the axes of the three rollers are maintained in substan tially fixed relation during the normal op'- eration of the machine with fesults that will be made apparent when the invention has been further described in connection with one of many possible embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure' 1 isa. side view of the machine, certain parts being dotted in and an alternative position being shown by dottedlines; Fig. 2 is a plan view; and'Fig. 3 is acrosssectional view online-3 3 of Fig. 2.V

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the diil'erentl figures.

The land rolling `machine illustrated includes a truck frame whose forward and rear ends 4, 5 are in the form of shafts upon which the outer or forward and rear, cylindrical rollers 6, 7 are adapted to rotate while the sides 8 of said truck frame serve not only to maintain the front-and rear rollers in properrelationship but also act to support the pivot 9 of a. lever mechanism 10 that carries a shaft 11 for the intermediate cylindrical roller 12, this shaft being located to one side of the fulcrum, The lever device 10 is provided with a handle 13 which carries a pin 14 adapted for engagement with the holes in a holding rack 15, a spring 16 forcing the .pin into engagement with any rack hole in register therewith. By pressing downwardly upon and lowering the handle, the forward end of the truck is raised, this end of the truck carrying upwardly with it the forward roller 6, the two other rollers remaining upon the ground owing to the construction illustrated but to which I do not wish to be limited. After the forward roller has been elevated toa position in which the pin 14 engages a lower hole in the retaining rack, the handle r13 may be elevated slightly to lower the forward roller'6 and raise the rear roller 7 in which lreadjustment the entire load is borne by the intermediate roller. The truck frame also preferably carries a receptacle 17 for rocks or other heavy material to reinforce the inherent weight of the rollers, and' in 'order that the machine maymore readily be turned when the front and rear rollers are oif the ground, the intermediate rolleris divided into two independently rotatable sections or divisions. v

I have selected a simple and comparatively small embodiment of my invention in order that the invention .might be very easily comprehended and I have omitted a power plant from the illustration of the invention as such may readily be supplied if it is desired to operate the rolling machine by power'if, for example, such machine is made on a much larger scale. I do not therefore wish to be limited to the very simple structure illustrated nor to a land rolling. machine which is propelled or pushed by means other than power driven mechanism. Nor do I wish to be limited, in all embodiments of the invention, to a structure wherein the axis of the intermediate roller is 'adjustable with respect to the axes of the end rollers for there are important advantages in the machine 'of my invention whether 'or not the axes of the intermediate and end rollers are relatively adjustable. These advantages will now be set forth.

W'henthe three rollers are in Working position the peripheral portions thereof that are in contact with the ground o r are nearest to the ground lie in the same plane owing to the relative tixedness of the axes of the three. rollers and this result is obviouslyobtainable whether or not the three rollers are of uniform diameter so long as the framework is such. as to maintain the axes of the rollers in the required fixed or substantially -ixed relationship. By having the peripheral portions of the rollers that are closest to the ground occupy substantially the`y same plane the following re-A is at the rear, let itbe supposed that the forward roller strikes a rise in the ground. The intermediate roller will then be raised and the weight of the machine will be transferred to the groundr through the forward and rear rollers. The middle roller will next strike the rise in the ground providing this rise has not been eliminated by the forward roller and the weight of the machine will be transferred to the ground mainly through the intermediate roller further Vto reduce the rise', or entirely eliminate it if such is then possible. If the rise in the ground is yet not eliminated the rear roller will next strike it and the weight of the machine will again Abe transferred to the ground through the forward and rear rollers. Thusthe end rollers take lighter part in reducing the elevations andthe middle roller takes a -heavier part in reducing the elevations so that there is included in one machine the capacities of two rolling machines that are comparatively light and heavy.

As the machine is moved over the ground the high points of the ground receivethe weight of the machine which is transferred in a manner that has been described and with results that are obviously satisfactory in a land rolling process. Other conditions of the land could be recited upon which the rollin machine operates but further description of the operation of the machine will not be required as the results would `be obvious to those familiar with land rolling machines. v

While I have shown a machine wherein the axesof the end rollers may be elevated with respect to the axis of the intermediate roller, I do not wish to be limited to a machine in which such relative adjustment of the roller axes may be secured nor do I wish to be limited to the minimum number of three rollers.

I-Iaving thus describedmy invention II t-he ground to permit. the outer rollers to I be lifted from the ground while the intermediate roller remains upon the ground, said intermediate roller being separated into two independently rotatable divisions to enable the machine readily to turn when the outer rollers are elevated. c 2. A land rolling machine including three land rolling rollers arranged in tandem; a mounting for said rollers serving normally to hold the axes thereof in substantially fixed relation and in such relative position as to have the peripheral portions of the rollers nearest the ground occupy substantially the same plane; and mechanism for 'effecting the elevation of an outer roller. While the intermediate roller remains upon .the ground to permit the outer rollers to be lifted from the ground while the intermediate roller remains upon the ground.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 25th day of Novemben A. D.,

A CHARLES L. LILLEBERG. y Witnesses:

' Gr. L. CRAGG,

GEO. C. DAvIsoN. 

